Joe Given

​Joe Given was a mainstay at Notre Dame High, coaching the softball team for 30 years. His teams had a winning season each year, as he finished with 730 wins, third best in the state. Given led Notre Dame to 15 league championships and 12 Central Coast Section championships. The first CCS championship came in 1992, when Given led the Spirits to a 22-7 record. They won three times in the postseason, storming through Mercy-Burlingame, Redwood Christian and finally Half Moon Bay in the finals. The Spirits later won a state-record nine section championships in a row, from 1998-2006. In several of those years, the Spirits didn’t allow a run to an opponent. In 1998, Given was named CalHiSports’ Coach of the Year, as the Spirits went 31-2-1. In 2002 Given was named state softball Coach of the Year by the California Coaches Association and in 2011 was inducted into the California Coaches Association Hall of Fame.